* Facebook 4/8/11 – There are 9 backpacks in the living room. I’m not really sure whose kids are here right now or how long they’re staying, but I’m making extra dinner rolls just in case.
*Facebook 4/8/11 – P.S. One of the teachers just found my own kid’s backpack in the school parking lot next to where my car had been and brought it over to our house. #thatmeansthereare10kidshere #mymomsaysIhaveADD
When I yell “Dinner” out the back door a variety of children tumble in. You can tell if they belong here by their shoe placement upon entering. New kids leave them by the door. Kids who visit often put them in the “shoe drawer” where they go. My own kids stomp through the house and get mud on everything.
Sometimes I feel like when we moved to South Dakota we actually moved back in time to 1950. My kids play outside all the time. They ride their bikes around the neighborhood and I don’t worry (much). They can go to the playground, the roller skating rink, the movie theater, all by themselves, or with their friends. This, in case you were wondering, was not true when we lived in Boston. In our past life, my job, the kids’ school and, therefore all the kids’ friends, were 45 minutes away from our house. By the time we got home it was dark, there was no one we knew to play with and well, let’s just say I wasn’t ready to let them out of my sight for even one minute.
And so now, my children get to participate in the neighborhood experience. This means that sometimes I look outside and see no one at all…and don’t worry. (Who am I kidding? I do worry. I was raised in Boston and lived there for the better part of 32 years. I can’t completely stop worrying, - my dad calls this East Coast Paranoia - but I’m learning.) Sometimes, though, I look outside and see anywhere from 7 to 15 children playing on our tennis court – riding bikes, jumping rope, teasing my dogs. Usually I can pick out which ones are mine and which ones aren’t…if I have my glasses on. I love that my house is where they want to be. I love that they feel comfortable coming inside for a glass of water or taking toys out of my garage. I do sometimes wish they’d bring the glasses back inside or put the toys away…
Some kids are regulars. My friends and I subscribe to the “it takes a village” approach. As parents and friends, we run errands for each other, let each other’s dogs out, drive carpools, assist with overwhelming baking tasks…at times my friends have been known to make dinner at my house and once one of them even cleaned my kitchen in an emergency. Obviously, we also share the job of caring for and entertaining all the kids. Their children feel right at home here. One has a job on the job chart, one even has a bed here. The other day I was driving one of “the regulars” to French class with my girls and she asked whether it was her turn to set the table!
*Facebook 4/14/11 - Thank goodness for good friends who come over when you're freaking out and, you know, make dinner.
So I don’t mind putting away extra shoes, setting a few more places at dinner or storing an extra mattress under Gabby’s bed for surprise sleepovers. I’ll happily introduce new kids to my husband at dinner. I like to drive carpools and organize parties. But most of all, having these extra kids all the time serves a very important purpose. When they go home, six suddenly seems like a totally manageable number of children.
*Facebook 4/11/11 - For those of you following the backpack saga, we left the house this morning after 5 attempts, with an extra backpack that was left over last Friday. Then Sam had to go all the way home because he left his on the living room floor...
© Jody Hoffman 2011
THIS IS INTERESTING ARTICLE, THAT IS THE THING I'A LOOKING FOR OVER THE NET....
Posted by: Air Max Shoes | 05/04/2011 at 09:47 PM
I am so glad your family gets to experience playing outside in the neighborhood. It's just the way childhood SHOULD be!
Posted by: Karen | 04/30/2011 at 09:43 PM
Jody, I love reading your stories. You are an amazing person with so much talent and a love for people, young and old. Love, Gladys K.
Posted by: gladys kuehn | 04/30/2011 at 04:42 PM
Sounds like stepping back in time to my childhood in Connecticut where we all ran around until the fathers started whistling and the mothers starting ringing the bells for dinner!
Posted by: Pat | 04/30/2011 at 09:08 AM